SISBIOTA MAR

POPULATION STRUCTURE AND CONNECTIVITY IN THE SOUTHWESTERN ATLANTIC REEF BIOTA

Shallow-water reef organisms in Brazil are distributed from the State of Maranhão (Northeast) to the State of Santa Catarina (South) and constitute
the only reefal systems in the Southwest Atlantic. In Brazil, endemic coral species contribute to unique reef formations not found anywhere else in
the world, as the “Chapeirões“ in Abrolhos. Twenty species of scleractinean corals (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) are found in Brazil, seven of which are
endemic. Given the considerable percentage of endemism, the Brazilian coast and oceanic islands are recognized as a distinct province from the
Caribbean. The freshwater outflow of the Amazon River spans more than 2000km up the northern Brazilian coast, and represents a
biogeographical barrier for a number of species. In fact, there is no reef formation from the state of Pará in Brazil to the Antilles in the Caribbean.
Additionally, there are some putative barriers for dispersion within the Brazilian coast, such as the outflow of the São Francisco and Doce Rivers
and the great distance between the coast and oceanic islands, what could increase the percentage of endemism.

GOALS

01 Investigate population genetics of Brazilian coral using microsatellites and DNA sequence data;
02 Evaluate if marginal coral populations in southern Brazil show reduced genetic variability in comparison to populations in the Northeast (e.g., Abrolhos);
03 Evaluate source-sink hypothesis using corals as models;
04 Investigate population genetics of reef fish along the Brazilian coast using microsatellites.

EQUIPE